My Podcast Feed

September 18th, 2018

I’m a huge fan of podcasts and audiobooks, and devour them readily. Whether as a mental distraction at work, or a way to remove the tedium of driving around, or background while playing Ingress or…really, for a myriad of reasons, a good podcast or audiobook can brighten one’s day and uplift one’s mood. I’ve been asked on a few different occasions what I subscribe to, and as my subscription feed grows more and more with each cool podcast someone recommends to me, I’ve decided to consolidate them here for reference.

This is a comprehensive list of the podcasts I actively follow. I use the Android Pocket Casts app to follow them on my phone.

Accidental Tech Podcast — Casey Liss, Marco Arment, and John Siracusa accidentally created this tech podcast while trying to make a car show (Neutral). They discuss various Apple- and technology-related things that pique their interest.

Adventures In New America — From the creators of Welcome to Night Vale, and tagged as “the first sci-fi, political satire, Afrofuturistic buddy comedy, serialized for New Americans in a new and desperate time.” Premiering September 28.

Alice Isn’t Dead — From the creators of Welcome to Night Vale: A truck driver searches for her wife who she thought was dead, encountering various strange and fantastic things along the way.

The Allusionist — A podcast about fun etymology and language topics by Helen Zaltzman of Radiotopia.

Analog(ue) — Myke Hurley and Casey Liss of Relay FM discuss how our digital devices make us feel, and how we feel about them.

Ars Paradoxica — After a mishap occurs while she is experimenting with the Higgs field , Dr. Sally Grissom finds she’s accidentally discovered how to time travel. There’s just a small problem: It stuck her in the heart of 1940s America, at the peak of World War II.

The Bright Sessions — A sci-fi audio drama written by Lauren Shippen which tells the stories of supernaturally-gifted people through the eyes of their therapist, Dr. Bright.

Bronzeville — Starring an ensemble cast of acclaimed actors, including Laurence Fishburne, Larenz Tate and Tika Sumpter, this audio drama provides a fascinating theatrical look into the 1940s-era South Side Chicago from a unique African American perspective.

Bubble — A sci-fi/comedy audiodrama from the Maximum Fun network. A self-described “nightmarish version of the gig economy” set in a modern society not unlike our own but also very much unlike our own.

Buffer Buddies — In a style similar to Mystery Science Theater 3000, each week we watch a cheesy movie or TV episode and talk about funny, sometimes unrelated, things while watching. Hosted primarily by Jared Kotoff and Tiffany Tran of UpDownLeftDie, with an assortment of friends (sometimes, yours truly) as guests.

Clear + Vivid — Host Alan Alda is joined by many different guests to talk about how we communicate with each other: how difficult it can be, how nuanced it is, and how rewarding it can be.

Command-Line Heroes — Presented by Red Hat, host Saron Yitbarek tells us the amazing stories of how open-source and its community are transforming technology, from the command-line up.

Containers — Alexis C. Madrigal tells us in 8 episodes and astonishing depth, how cargo containers revolutionized capitalism and made possible the spread of today’s technology.

Cortex — YouTuber CGP Grey and Myke Hurley of Relay FM discuss the methods and tools they use to do the awesome things that they do.

Disney Story Origins — Paul J. Hale gives summaries of Disney films and an in-depth comparison between the Disney version and the classic historical tale.

Edict Zero – FIS — Tagged as “the science fiction audio drama series”; this podcast by Jack Kincaid is a sci-fi audiodrama about the Federal Investigative Services’ search for answers after the events of a fateful New Year’s Day, 2415, and how their search only yields more and more questions as it deepens.

Endless Thread — A podcast about the most intriguing stories told by Reddit users. Hosted by Ben Brock Johnson, from WBUR.

EOS 10 — An audio drama best described by the blurb on its website: “The stories of two maladjusted doctors and their medical team aboard an intergalactic travel hub on the edges of deep space — along with a deposed prince who’s claimed the foodcourt kitchen as his new throne.”

Every Little Thing — Flora Lichtman of Gimlet Media peers into nerdy depths about a variety of fascinating topics.

The Far Meridian — An audiodrama by Eli Barraza which tells the story of Peri’s search for her brother while living in a lighthouse that regularly transports her to places unknown.

Free Agents — Hosts David Sparks and Mike Schmitz of Relay FM discuss being self-employed in the modern world. (Formerly co-hosted by Jason Snell.)

Friends In Your Ears — Hosted by Kathy Campbell of The Incomparable. It is a show in which, as she describes it: “A podcast where podcaster Kathy Campbell interviews podcasters about their favorite podcasts on a podcast.”

Girl In Space — An audiodrama by Sarah Rhea Werner about a girl in space and her sole companion, a sassy robot assistant.

Good Morning, Night Vale — A “Welcome to Night Vale” recap show, with interesting discussions and interviews, starting from the very first episode published in 2012. Hosted by Meg Bashwiner (voice of Meg), Symphony Sanders (voice of Tamika Flynn), and Hal Lublin (voice of Steve Carlsberg).

Gravity Assist — Host Jim Green (NASA’s Director of Planetary Science) takes us on an audio tour of the solar system and beyond, one episode at a time.

Heaven’s Gate — In 10 episodes, Glynn Washington of Snap Judgment tells the stories of the 39 cult cult members that committed mass suicide in 1997.

Hello Internet — Fascinating discussions between YouTubers CGP Grey and Brady Haran about their various interests, quirks, and observations.

NPR’s Hidden Brain — Tagged as “a conversation about life’s unseen patterns,” Shankar Vedantam takes us into our own minds and behaviors, using psychology and social science to explain many different phenomena of human nature.

The Hindsight, An Animorphs Podcast — An Animorphs Podcast, hosted by Hannah and Kelly. The two go through each of the Animorphs books in order, commenting, summarizing, and critiquing in a fun and informal way.

The History of Fun — Russ Frushtick, Allegra Frank and Chris Plante of Polygon take the listener through incredible and often-hilarious backstories of many of our favorite entertainment choices, from classic games like Monopoly and Super Mario Kart to more contemporary things like Mission Impossible and karaoke.

Houston, We Have A Podcast — Gary Jordan of the NASA Johnson Space Center talks with professional scientists, engineers, researchers, and astronauts about all aspects of humanity’s journey into space.

How I Built This — Guy Raz of NPR interviews entrepreneurs and innovators, delving into the stories of their hardships and triumphs.

I Should Start A Podcast — Making a podcast can be challenging. John Lagomarsino from the Anchor production team explains and gives tips and insights on not only how to make podcasts, but how to make podcasts well.

The Incomparable — Hosted by Jason Snell and a rotating panel of hosts as part of the eponymous The Incomparable podcast network. It is a weekly discussion of all walks of being a geek and enjoying geeky media.

The Incomparable Game Show — A podcast hosted by various rotating hosts from The Incomparable featuring a wide variety of board games, trivia, word games, quizzes, and more.

The Infinite Monkey Cage — Dr. Brian Cox and Robin Ince take the listener through a “witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists’ eyes.” Fascinating, hilarious, and inspiring all at once.

The Internet 3.0 — Stories about technology on the digital frontier like cryptocurrencies, decentralization, and cybersecurity. Hosted by Zach Valenti and guest hosts Ryan Shea and Muneeb Ali of Blockstack.

NPR’s Invisibilia — Stories and discussions about the invisible forces that control human behavior, such as emotions, beliefs, etc. Hosted by Lulu Miller, Hanna Rosin and Alix Spiegel.

It Makes A Sound — A story created by Jacquelyn Landgraf from Night Vale Presents, of Deirdre Gardner’s quest to revive the sound of Wim Faros.

James Bonding — Matt Mira and Matt Gourley (of the Nerdist channel) watch every Bond film in sequence and then discuss them in a very informal friends-hanging-out sort of way.

King Falls AM — The stories of (as its iTunes page describes it) “a lonely little mountain town’s late-night AM talk radio show and its paranormal, peculiar happenings and inhabitants”; produced by The Make Believe Picture Company.

LeVar Burton Reads — Exactly as its name suggests, LeVar Burton (of Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation) selects and reads aloud his favorite works of short fiction.

Life After — A co-production between Panoply and GE Podcast Theater, this 10-episode series tells the story of Ross, an FBI employee who, who thanks to some advanced social networking technology, spends every waking hour talking to his wife, who died 8 months prior. But this technology is much more than it seems, and it threatens to tear his world apart…The Message — In the same feed, and co-production between Panoply and GE Podcast Theater, this 8-episode podcast tells the story of podcaster Nicky Tomalin and the efforts of a team of cryptologists trying to decode and understand the first message from an alien civilization.

Robot or Not — Jason Snell asks John Siracusa to rule on the specific meanings of various words and concepts. (Formerly, it was Jason Snell asking John Siracusa whether or not certain things qualified as robots.)

Rocket Ranch — Joshua Santora hosts this official podcast of the NASA Kennedy Space Center, taking the listener on a deep dive all about rockets and space travel.

S-Town — From the makers of Serial and This American Life, Brian Reed tells in seven chapters the story of a man named John McLemore who despises his Alabama town, and finds himself entrenched in a search for truth through mysteries of murder and treasures.

SAYER — The story of a highly advanced AI called SAYER designed by Ærolith Dynamics to help residents of Typhon adapt to their new lives on Earth’s artificial moon, told from the perspective of its eponymous AI. Created and voiced by Adam Bash of the GeeklyInc podcast network.

Sci-gasm Podcast — Hosts Byrne and Wade dish out knowledge on a variety of science topics, separating truth from psuedoscience along the way, topped with a dollop of good humor and puns.

Science in Action — BBC interviews and discussions of the latest in news and scientific research from around the globe.

Science Vs. — Wendy Zukerman of Gimlet Media takes an in-depth look at the science behind a lot of the fads, trends, and often-controversial topics of the modern day, such as hypnosis, gun control, and organic food.

Serial — A chapter-by-chapter true story, hosted by Sarah Keonig. Season 1 told the story of the alleged murder of Hae Min Lee by her ex, Adnan Syed. Season 2 tells the story of U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, a former Taliban prisoner accused of desertion.

SPONTANEANATION with Paul F. Tompkins — A comedy podcast hosted by Paul F. Tompkins. Each week he has a free-form interview and then spends the rest of the show improvising a scene with special guests.

Star Trek: Outpost — An audiodrama by Giant Gnome Productions which is best summarized by its own tagline: “In the darkest reaches of the United Federation of Planets, an isolated station stands sentinel over a neglected frontier. Commissioned long ago with high hopes, its promise is now all but forgotten; a lonely outpost serving as the gateway to the vast expanse beyond, where discovery…and adventure…await.”

StarTalk: All-Stars — Hosted by a revolving panel of scientists and science educators including Bill Nye and many others, this spin-off of StarTalk Radio is of a similar format and blends science with pop culture and humor to create a near-perfect blend of education, inspiration, and entertainment.

StarTalk: Playing With Science — Sports broadcaster Gary O’Reilly teams up with comedian Chuck Nice to discover the science behind some of the most iconic moments in sports history, the feats of skill and physics which they require, and the technology which allows us to measure them.

Stephen Fry’s Great Leap Years — A documentary podcast series hosted by Stephen Fry about just how various technologies have come to be, and how our lives have been transformed by them.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris — Earth barely won a war against extraterrestrials in 2189. Two years later, the biologist Violet Liu finds herself the sole survivor of an explosion aboard the science ship Starship Iris. She has only two priorities: Survive; and figure out what the hell just happened. Created by Jessica Best as part of the Procyon Podcast Network.

Subnet — In a few minutes each day, hosts Stephen Hackett, Jason Snell, and Mikah Sargent of Relay FM tell us about some headlines in technology.

Supercomputer — A podcast all about bring order to the wonderful technology-fueled chaos that can often be modern life, hosted by Alex Cox and Matthew Cassinelli.

Surprisingly Awesome — Adam Davidson and Adam McKay talk through seemingly mundane topics to show that they are in fact, surprisingly awesome.

Surprisingly Nice — Hosts Hal Lublin and Travis McElroy sit down with several amazing people (such as Adam Savage in the first episode) and chat about a variety of fascinating things.

SYFY25: Origin Stories — In honor of SyFy’s 25 anniversary, Adam Savage had a multitude of conversations with stars from across the nerd fandoms about all sorts of interesting things, and in particular, what their own origin stories were — what made them such (amazing) nerds.

Talking & Conversations — Hal Lublin speaks with his wife, Jenn, about a variety of random things which pique their fancy.

TED Radio Hour — Hosted by Guy Raz, each episode presents a small collection of similar-themed TED Talks and a brief interview with those speakers. Quite fascinating.

We Got This, with Mark and Hal — Each week, Mark Gagliardi and Hal Lublin give the final word on one of the internet’s most insignificant debate topics, such as: should you put ketchup on hot dogs? Boxers or briefs? Should socks be rolled or folded? Etc.

We’re Alive and its sequel, We’re Alive: Lockdown— Tagged as “a story of survival;” it’s an audio drama that follows the lives of a small group after a zombie apocalypse. Quite enthralling; but the original ended after a 3-year run.

Welcome to Night Vale — Every two weeks, radio host Cecil Baldwin gives community updates to the small and quirky desert town of Night Vale.

Within the Wires — Stories from the creators of Welcome to Night vale and Alice Isn’t Dead in the guise of instructional audio cassettes.

Wolf 359 — Tagged as “a show about the advantages of floating, tiny and alone, in the middle of nowhere;” it’s a bi-weekly audio drama in the style of old time radio about the adventures of Doug Eiffel and the crew of the U.S.S. Hephaestus Research Station crew, orbiting the titular star.

Wolverine: The Long Night — Marvel’s first scripted podcast about Agents Sally Pierce and Tad Marshall investigating a series of mysterious deaths in Burns, Alaska. Starring Celia Keenan-Bolger and Ato Essandoh as Agents Pierce and Marshall, and Richard Armitage as Wolverine.

NPR’s Wow In The World — Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas guide kids and their grown-ups through a wide variety of exciting and interest STEM topics.